I got a phone call last night from a former neighbor.  I haven’t heard from him for about nine months.  The last time we talked, he wanted to buy a used boat lift from us (we no longer need it.)   Then I didn’t hear from him again, so I assumed that he changed his mind. 

Anyway, he called last night and said that he was still interested in buying it and explained that the reason he didn’t call back last summer was that his 14 year old granddaughter had suddenly taken ill and died.

Seems that her mother was getting remarried, and having a fantasy wedding in Italy.   They flew out for the wedding, having a great time, and suddenly the girl fell ill.  They took her to the local hospital, where they discovered that she had a rare form of leukemia that is highly aggressive and has only a 10% survival rate.  Most of the cases of this form of leukemia kill the victim within two weeks of diagnosis.  This poor little girl died within the week!  She died in that hospital in Italy.  The doctors here in the states say that they would not have been able to save her, either, so it was not a case of inadequate health care in that situation.

My heart goes out to all of them.  It gives me pause to consider (again) how fragile life is and how much pain there is in losing our loved ones.

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